Roosevelt looked at the upstart of the US Navy in front of him with a complicated expression, it was he who fought hard against his plans before the Spanish-American War, but at the same time, he was the one who fulfilled his duties in the war and left the most dignified trace of dignity for the US Navy. Now, he has left the government and he has become a rear admiral of the United States Navy, one of the de facto commanders of the Navy, and is in charge of the Navy's reconstruction and development plans.

"I admit my mistake, if it weren't for my haste to start the Spanish-American War, two years at most, no, a year and a half would be enough, and by the time our battleships were launched in large numbers, the Spanish fleet would definitely not be our opponent! We could bring Cuba, Honolulu and the Philippines, as well as the surrounding islands, under the control of the United States. In the future game, we will have an advantage over Huaxia. Theodore Roosevelt said abruptly.

"In two years, we can take Cuba, but not Honolulu and the Philippines further afield. The U.S. Navy is an inshore fleet, even worse than the North Fleet's ocean-going capabilities, and even if we were to defeat the Spanish fleet, it would be absolutely impossible for the remaining warships to travel far across the ocean to fight an enemy who was hindering the expansion of the United States. Majifen shook his head and continued: "Our enemies were not only Beiyang at that time, but also the British and Germans. They also don't want us to project our power on the other side of the ocean, and if we do, I'm afraid they'll have to do it themselves. ”

"In two years we can have 3 more battleships or more, but we still can't form a local advantage over Britain and the North Ocean, and the result is still much the same. There was a problem with our original thinking on army building. There is a large tonnage in the air, but the combat effectiveness, especially the ocean-going combat effectiveness, is very limited. in this regard. General Magifin would have had more say. Mahan motioned for Majifen to let him continue.

"Due to the constraints of funds and other aspects of the ocean, the sea trials and endurance of our four main battleships are very bad. The armor design, etc., was also far from mature, and the two armored cruisers were somewhat large and inappropriate. As for the dozen protective cruisers, although there are a lot of them, I have to say that except for a very few battleships such as Olympia, the combat effectiveness of the other protective cruisers is very limited. These problems have to be said to be the sorrow of the United States Navy. Ma Jifen's face showed a hint of helplessness.

"But now. We finally have a chance to close the gap with other naval powers, and the emergence of new warships has made all those warships that have not been in service for a long time become obsolete. Those huge tonnage no longer directly reflect the strength of combat effectiveness. And now, what we need to do is to keep our eyes on it, not just the navy, but our country as a country. All need to be so. Majifen said with a deep breath.

"Taoguang is obscure? At a time when great changes are about to take place in this world? The United States has become the country with the largest total industrial volume in the world. We need to be in a position commensurate with our strength. For what kind of Far Eastern countries can expand freely. And we're going to stay in North America and watch someone divide up the continents and oceans? Theodore Roosevelt said angrily.

"It doesn't mean that there is no action, but the direction needs to change. We don't want to go to those hot spots to compete with the great powers for interests, the Eurasian continent is not something we can go to now, and Africa has been carved up, and we can do something in the Americas. The Americans should be in charge of the affairs of the Americas, not by the Europeans. It's not just our opinion, it's also what the top brass means, of course, even if we don't intervene directly. Influence on other places is also needed. Mahan smiled slightly.

"Exert some influence? For example, the Far East? For example, China and Russia and the Netherlands? For example, Britain and Germany? Theodore Roosevelt was, after all, a seasoned politician, and Mahan was a little bit of a nudge. If the Russians and the Dutch can greatly consume China's national strength, then it will naturally be of great benefit to the expansion of the United States, and if a big war really breaks out between Britain and Germany, then no matter whether it wins or loses, Europe will surely fall from the peak of its strength! Roosevelt was thrilled at the thought of this!

"Things in Europe are still too far away to be known in 10 years. But the Far East will quickly decide the winner, and we must not offend the future winners, but at the same time, we must make the winners pay a greater price. Theodore Roosevelt continued.

"You are right, we will continue to conduct legitimate trade with Huaxia, whether it is raw materials or chemical machinery products, we must work hard to open up this huge market, Huaxia has enough demand to swallow our huge production capacity, this huge market is like a cake, not just let European countries carve up. On the side of the Russians and the Dutch, we may be able to fight more fiercely than by providing them with sufficiently advanced warships and financial support! When both sides lose, it is the moment when the United States of America marches into the Pacific. Mahan nodded and said.

"Mr. Mahan, you really should be a politician instead of teaching at the Naval Academy, and you are obviously better than some politicians in terms of politics and the overall situation." Roosevelt complimented.

"It is indeed a good way to support the Dutch and the Russians, but it cannot be done, if our country undertakes a large number of orders, then our slipways and skilled workers will be in short supply, which will seriously affect the outfitting speed of our self-built dreadnoughts, the construction cycle of a warship is about 3 to 4 years, and now Congress is still very cautious about the order of new warships, which is not conducive to the expansion of the navy, in short, there is a saying that self-preservation is more than enough, and expansion is insufficient." Magifen said.

"Actually, I've always wanted to ask, if the United States of America supports Russia and the Netherlands, does the Russians have any chance of defeating China?" Theodore Roosevelt asked a little unwillingly.

"There is no chance, China has more friends, almost the whole of Europe is supporting China against Russia, and even the French are not optimistic about his allies. And the Far East is too far from the Russian mainland. Coupled with the rotten political and economic system of Russia now, this giant with feet of clay simply has no ability to confront a nascent power. Mahan shook his head and said.

"If you don't try to know how to know the way, I will use my own resources to help the Russians as much as possible, of course, you can rest assured that this will not affect the diplomatic relations between the United States and China. Go and sing the white face, I'll be the black face. Theodore Roosevelt made up his mind.

Thank you for the monthly ticket support of Brother Chai~~~. Yesterday's subscription was less than a third of last week's maximum. The author is in tears~~. (To be continued.) )